LE_
^Z i'ii^i
C^O. 'yrtiti-l
Treacl>vell- Elizabeth- Phillips • Kirsteiif
THE
\VILL1AVI P. TRENT COLLECTION
WORKS RELATING TO
DANIEL DEFOE
AND +IIS TIME
T
THE PUBLIC LIBRARY
OFTHECITYOF
BOSTON
y urcAauii /ru/Tfy tH< yptcottic^ Of
SUNDRY TRUST FUNDS
v^ — .
Clement • Charlotte Harris • Whitneg
FN7I1 : 29 . 3M,
Giving Alms no Charity,
And Employing the
POOR
A Grievance to the
NATION,
Being an
E S S A Yi
Upon this
Whether Work-houfes, Corporations, and Houfes of
Corroftion for Employing the Poor, as now pra-
ais'd m England \ or Pari(h-Stocks, as proposa in
a late Pamphlet, Entituled, A Bill for the better Re*
lief^ Imployment and Settlement of the Poor^ &c. Are
not mifchievous to the Nation, tending to the DeA
ftruflion of our Trade, and to Encreafe the Num-\
ber and Mifery of the Poor.
^y I^^ni£.i jiddrejfed to the Parliament of England. Pc/oc^
LONDON:
Printed, and Sold by the Bookfellers of London and We^^'
fMnfier, MDCCIV.
r 3 3
iWaJKiKli r I »l M-j;«M»Md>»<»
5r(9 ir)&^ Knights, Citizens and Bnrgejfes in Par^
liament Afjembkd,
Gentlemen,
HE that has Truth and Juftice, and the Interefl: of Eng^
land in his Defign, can have nothing to fear from an
Englifh Parliament.
This makes the Author of thefe Sheets, however Def-
picable in himfelf, apply to this Honourable Houfe, without any
Apology for the Prefumption.
Truth, Gentlemen^ however meanly drefsM, and in whatfoever
bad Company fhe happens to come, was always entertain'd at
your Bar ; and the Commons of England mull ceafe to a£l: like
themfelves, or which is worfe, like their Anceftors, when they
ceafe to entertain any Propofal, that offers it felf at their Door, for
the general Good and Advantage of the People they Reprefent
I willingly grant, That 'tis a Crime in good Manners to in-
terrupt your more wei^y Councils, and difturb your Debates*,
with empty nauleous Trifles in Value, or miftaken Schemes ^
and whoever ventures to Addrefs You, ought to be well afTur'd
he is in the right, and that the Matter fuits the Intent of youf
meeting, viz.. To difpafchthe mighty Affairs of the Kjngdom,
And as I have premis'd this, fo I freely fubmit to any Cenfure
this Honourable AlTembly fliall think I deferve, if I have broke
in upon either of thefe Particulars.
I have but one Petition to make with refpe£l to the Author,
and that is. That no freedom of Expreflion, which the Argu-
ments may oblige him to, may beconltru'd as a want of Refpecl,
and a breach of the due Deference every Englijh Man owes to the
reprefenting Power of the Nation*
It would be hard, that while I am honeftly offering to your
Confideration fomething of Moment for the general Good, Pre-
A 2 judice
I 4]
judice Qiould lay Snares for the Author, and private Pique make
him an Offender for a Word.
Without entring upon other Parts of my Character, 'tis enough
to acquaint this Affembly, that I am an Englifb Freeholder, and
have by that a Title to be concernM in the good of that Commu?
munity of which I am an unworthy Member^
This Honourable Houfe is the Reprefentative of all the Free-
holders of England', you are Aflembrd for their Good, you fludy
their Intereft, you poffefs their Hearts, and you hold the Strings
©f the general Purfe.
To you they haveRecourfe for the Redrefs of all their Wrongs,
and if at any time one of their Body can offer to your Afliflance,
any fair, legal, honcft and rational Propofal for the publick Be-
nefit, it was never known that fuch a Man was either reje6led or
difcourag'd".
And on this Account I crave the Liberty to aflure you. That the
Author of this feeks no Reward ; to him it fliall always be Re-
ward enough to have been capable of ferving his native Country,
and Honour enough to have ofFer'd fomething for the publick
Good worthy of Confideration in your Honourable Affembly.
Fauper Vhiquejacet, faid our famous Queen £//**^f/^, when in
her Progrefs thro' the Kingdom (he faw the vaft Throngs of the
Poor, flocking to fee and bleis her; and the Thought put her
Majefty upon a continuM ftudy how to recover her People from
that Poverty, and make their Labour more profitable to them--
fclves in Particular, and the Nation in General.
This was eafie then to propofe, for that many ufeful Manu^
faftures were made in foreign Parts, which our People bought
with E«g7//Z' Money, and Imported for their ufe.
The Queen, who knew the Wealth and vaft Numbers of Pea-
pie which the faid Manufaflures had brought to the neighbouring
Countries then under the King o^Spam^ the Dutch being not yet
Revolted, never left ofl' endeavouring what fhe happily brought
to pafs, viz, the tranfplanting mio Engird thofe Springs of Riches
and People.
She faw the Flemings prodigioufly Numerous, their Cities ftood
thicker than her Peoples Villages in fome parts ; all forts of ufeful
Manufactures were found in their Towns, and all their People.
were;
[5]
were rich and bufic, no Beggars, no Idlenefs, ^nd confequently
no v?'ant was to be feen among them.
She {aw the Fountainof all this Wealth and Workmanfliip, I
mean the Wool, was in her own Hands, and FUnders became the.
Seat of all theie Manufaftures, not becaufe it was naturally
Richer and more Populous than other Countries, but becaufe it.
lay near England^ and the Staple of the £»^///Z> Wool which was
the Foundation of all their Wealth, was at AfJtiverp'm i\iQ Heart of
that Country.
From hence, it m ay be faid of F/^W^r/, it was not the Riches,
and the number of People brought the ManufaQures into the-
Low Countries^ but it was the Manufadures brought the People
thither, and Multitudes of People make Trade, Trade makes
Wealth, Wealth builds Cities, Cities Enrich the Land round"
them, Land Enrich'd rifes in Value, and the Value of Lands En-
riches the Government,
Many Proje^s were fet on foot in England to Ere6l tlic Wool-
len Manufadlurer here, and in fome Places it had found Encou-
ragement, before the Days of this Queen, efpecially as to mak-
ing of Cloath,- but Stuffs, Bays, Says,. Serges, and fuch like.
Wares were yet wholly the Work of the Flemings,
At laft an Opportunity offer'dperfedlly unlook'd for, viz. The
Perfecution of the Proteftants, and introducing the Spanijk In-
quifition into Flanders, with the Tyranny of the Duke D'Alva. .
It cannot be an ungrateful Obfervation, here to take notice how
Tyranny and Perfecution, the one an OppreHion of Property
the other of Confcience, always Ruine Trade, Impoverifb Nati-
ons, Depopulate Countries, Dethrone Princes, and Deftroy
Peace.
When an Englijh Man refleds on it, he cannot without infi-
nite Satisfaction look up to Heaven, and to this Honourable.
Houfe^ that asthefpring, this, as the Stream /row and bj which
the Felicity of this Nation has obtain'da Pitch of Glory, Superior
to all the People in the World.
Your Councils efpecially, when bleft fi'om Heaven, as ncHP we
trujlthey are, with Principles of Unanimity and Concord, cam
oever fail to make Trade FJouriQ], War Succefsful, Peace, cer-
raifl., .
in
tain, Wealth flowing, Bleffings probable, the Queert GlotlaUsJ
and the People Happy.
Our unhappy Neighbours of the Lorv Couniries were the very
Reverfe of whit we blefs ourfehks'for inYou.
Their Kings were Tyran ts, their Governours Perfecutors, their
Armies Thieves and Blood- hounds.
Their People Divided, their Councils Codfus'd, and their Mi-
feries Innumerable.
D'^/^/^ the S/'^»///^ Governor, Befieg'd their Cities, Decimated
the Inhabitants, Murther'd their Nobility, Profcrib'd theii* Princes
and Executed 1 8000 Men by the Hand of the Hang-m'an. '
Confcience was trampPd underfoot, Religion and Refornlati-
on hunted like a Hare upon the Mountains, the Inquifition thrcat-
ned, and Foreign Armies introduc'd. • '■" ' •
Property fell a Sacrifice to Abfolute Power, the Countrey was
Ravag'd, the Towns Plunder'd, the Rich Con fifcated, the Poor
Starv'd, Trade Interrupted, and the lorh. Penny demanded.
TheCbnfequenceof this was, as in all Tyrannies and. Perfecntr--^
ons it isy the People fled and fcatter'd themfelves in their Neigh-
bours Countries, Trade languifh'd, Manufaftures went abroad,
and never return'd, Confufion reign'd, and Poverty fucceeded.
The Multitude that remain'd, pulh'd to all Extremities, were
fofc'd to obey the Voice of Nature, and in their own jufl: Defence
to take Arms againft their Governours.
Dejlruciion itfelfhas its ufes in the IVor/d, the A (lies of one Ci-
ty Rebuilds another, and God Almighty, whonever aftsin vain,
brought the Wealth of E^^^/^W, and the Power of Holland into
the World from the Ruirte of the Flemijh Liberty,
The D/zrcA in defence of their Liberty revolted, renounc'd
their Tyrant Prince, and profper'd by Heaven and tl-e Afliftance
oi England, ereded the greateft Common- wealth in the World.
Innumerable Obfervations would flow from this pare of the
prefent Subjed, but Brevity is my fl:udy, I am not teaching ; for
1 know wholfpeak to, but relating and obferving the Connexi-
on of Caufes, and the wonderous Births which lay then in the
Womb of Providence, and are fince come to life.
Particularly how Heaven dire£led the Oppreflion and Tyranny
of the Poor Ihould be the Wheel to turn over the great Machine
of Trade from Flanders into England^ Afld
C ^ J
And howthc Pfirrecutjon and Cruelty of the Spxmards again H:
Religion fliould be dire£l:ed by thefqcret Over-ruling Hand, to be
theFoundatiopof aPepple, an4 a^^dy that fliould in Ages then
to pme, be ocepf the ebie(Pul\^4r5^^.pi£ti3ft
jj^eligioa they fpught tpfdeftr(;jjy^, ■ i ^ 'j J ;' '
' ^Ip this generaliluinejof Trade, and Liberty, England, md^^^
aiSaiaof what fhe never yet lod, and of what fhe has fince en-
creas'd to an inconceivible Magnitude.
As D'Jte worried the poor F/^/^i/s?^/, the Queen o^EngUndx^-
lertain'd thetji, xherilh'd tbem^ invited them, encoufag'dthem;
Thoufands of .innocent People fled from all Parts from the Fu-
ry of this Mercilefs Man, and as England, to her Honour has al-
ways been the San£luary of her diftrefs'd Neighbours, fo now
fhe was fo to her (jpecial and particular Profit.
TheQueen who (aw the Opportunity put into her hands which fhe
had fo long wifliM for, not only receiv'd kindly the E2j;il'd Flemings^
but invited over all that would cpnae, prom ifing them allpoflible
Eno0uragement,Priviledges and Freedom of her Ports^nd the like.
This brought over a vaft multitude of Flemings, H^alloons,
and Dutch ^ who with their whole Families fettled at Norwich^ at
Ipfwich, Colchejler, Canterbury^ Exeter, and the like. From thefe
came the Walloon Church at Canterbury, and the Dutch Churches
Norwich, Colchejier and Tarmouth ; from hence came the True-
born E«^///S Families at thofe Places with Foreign Names;! as
thQDe Finks at Norwich, the Reborvs at Colchejier, thQ Papilons,,
&c. at Canterbury, Families to whom this Nation are much in
debt for the firft planting thofe Manufadlures, from which we
have fince rais'd the greateft Trades in the World.
This wife Queen knew that number of Inhabitants are the
Wealth and Strength of a Nation, flie was far from that Opinion
we have of late Ihown too much of in complaining that Foreigners
came to take the Bread out of our Mouths, and ill treating on
that account the French Proteflants who fled hither for Refuge io;
the late Perfecution.
Some have faid that above 50000 o£them fettled here, and-
would have made it a Grievance, tho' without doubt 'tiseafie to
make it appear that $00000 iporewould be both ufcful and pro-
fitabk to this Nation.
Upon;
Upon the fetling of thefe Forreigners, the Scale of Trade vift-
bly turn-d both here and in Ft/inders,
ThQ Flemings taught our Women and Children to Spin, the
Youth to Weave, the Men entred the Loom to labour inftead of
going abroad to feek their Fortunes %y the War, the feveral
Trades of B^yts at Colchefler, Sayes and Perpets, at Sudbury y
Jpfrvichy &c. Spufi at Norwich^ Serges at Exeter^ Silks 2X Canterbu-
ry^ and the like, began to flourifh. All the Counties round felt
the Prcfit, the Poor were fet to Work, the Traders gain'd Wealth,
and Multitudes of People flock'd to the feveral Parts where thefe
Manufadures were creQed for Employment, and the Growth of
England^ both in Trade, Wealth and People fmce that time, as it
is well known to this Honourable Houfe ; fothe Caufesof it ap-
pear to be plainly the Introducing of thefe Manufa£lures, and no-
thing elfe.
Nor wasthe Gain made here by it more vifible than the lofs to
the Flemings, from hence, and not as is vainly fuggefted from
the building the Dutch Fort of Lillo on the Scheld, came the De-
cay of that flourifliing City oi Antwerp, From hence it is plain
the Flemings, an Induflrious Nation, finding their Trade ruin'd
at once, turn'd their Hands to other things, as making of Lace^
Linnen, and the like, and the Dutch to the Sea Affairs and Fifh-
ing.
From hence they become Poory thin of People, and mak in
Trade, the Flux both of their Wealth and Trade, running
wholly into England.
I humbly crave leave to fay, this long Introduftion ihall not be
thought ufelefs,' when I (hall bring it home by the Procefs of thefe
Papers to the Subjed now in hand, viz,. The Providing for and
Employing the Poor.
Since the Times of Queen Elizabeth this Nation has gone onto
a Prodigy of Trade, of which the Encreafe of our Cuftoms
from 400000 Crowns to two Millions of Pounds Sterling, per Ann.
is a Demonftration beyond the Power of Argument ; and that this
whole Encreafe depends upon, and is principally occafion'd hy the
encreafe of our Manufadurers is fo plain, I ihall not take up any
voom here to make it out.
Having
t9l
Having thus given an Account how we came to be a rich, fiou-
rifhing and populous Nation, I crave leave asconcifely as lean to
examine how we came to be Poor again, if it muft be granted that
we are fo.
By Poor here I humbly defire to be underftood, not that we
are a poor Nation in general ; I ihould undervalue the bounty of
Heaven to England^ and ad with lefs Underftanding than raoft
Men are Mafters of, if I fliould not own, that in general we are as
Rich a Nation as any in the World ; but by Poor I mean burthen'd
with a crowd of clamouring, unimploy'd, unprovided for poor
People, who make the Nation uneafie, burthen the Rich, clog our
Parifhes, and make themfelves worthy of Laws, and peculiar
Management to difpofe of and dired them how thefe came to be
thus is the Qucftion.
And firft I humbly crave leave to lay thefe Heads down as
fundamental Maxims, which I am ready at any time to Defend
and make out.
1. There is /'/? England more Labour than Hands to perform it ^ and
confequently a want of People ^ not of Employment,
2. A^(!? A/;2;?/« England, of found Limbs and Senfes^ canbePoormeer"
lyfor want of Work.
5. All our Work-houfeSy Corporations and Charities for employing the
Poor, and fet ting them to IVork, as now they are employed, or any
Acis of Parliament to empower Overfeers of Parijhes, or Parijhes
themfelves, to employ the Poor, except as jhall be hereafter excepted,
are J and will be pub lick Naufances, Mifchiefs to the Nation which
ferve to the Ruin of Families, and the Encreafe of the Poor.
4. That "'tis a Regulation of the Poor that is'wanted in England, not
a fet ting them to Work.
«
If after thefe things are made out, I am enquired of what this
Regulation fhould be, 'I am no more at a lofs to lay it down than I
an^o affirm what is above ; and fhall always be r€ady,when call'd
to It, to make fuch a Propofal to this Honourable Houfe, as with
their Concurrence Hiall for ever put a flop to Poverty and ^Qg-
gery, Parifh Charges, AiTeffments and the like, in this Nation.
If fuch offers as thefe fhall be (lighted and rejeded, I have the
Satisfadion of having difcharg'd my Duty, and the Conftquence
muii be, that complaining will be continued in our Streets.
B • 'Tis
'TIs my misfortune, that while I ftudy to make every Head f(>
concife, as becomes me in things to be brought before fo Honoura-
ble and Auguft an AlTembly, I am obligM to be fhort upon Heads
that in their own Nature would very well admit of particular Vo-
lumes to explain them..
I. I affirm, Tha.t in Yx^^2SiA there is more Labour thaif Hands
to -perform in This I prove,
i/. From the dearnefs of Wages, which in EMgUnd out goes
all Nations in the World ; znd I how no greater Demonjlration in
Trade, Wages, like Exchanges, Rife and Fall as the Remitters
and Drawers, the Employers and the Work-men, Ballance one
another.
The Employers are the Remitters,the Work-men are the Draw-
ers, if there are more Employers than Work- men, the price of
Wages muft Rife, becaufe the Employer wants that Work to Be
done more than the Poor Man wants to do it, if there are more
Work-men than Employers the price of Labour falls, becaufe the
Poor Man wants his Wages more than the Employer wants to
have his Bufmefs done.
Trade, like all Nature, mod: obfequioufly obeys the great Law
of Caufe and Confequence ; and this is the occafion why even all
the greateft Articles of Trade follow, and as it were pay Homage
to this feemingly Minute and Inconfiderable Thing, Tin por-
Man'^s Labour,
I omit, with fome pain, the many very ufeful Thoughts that
occur on this Head, topreferve the Brevity I owe to the Dignity
of that AlTembly I am writing to. .But" I cannot but Note how
from hence it appears, that the Glory, the Strength, the Riches,
the Trade, and all that's valuable in a Nation, as to its Figure in
the World, depends upon the Number of its People, be they ne-
ver fo mean or poor ; the confumption of Ma'nufadures encreafes
theManufadurers; the number of Manufacturers encreafes the
Confumption ^ Provifions are confum'd to feed them. Land Im-
prov'd, and more Hands employ'd to furniflh Provifion : Allfhe.
Wealth of the Nation, and all the Trade is produc'd by Num-
bers of People ; but of this by the way.
The price of Wages not only determines the Difference between
the Employer and the Work man, but it rules the Rates of every
Market, If Wages grows high, Provifions rife in Proportion, and,
I humbly conceive it to be a miftake in thofe People, who fay La-
bour in fuch partsof £/3g/4Wis cheap becaufeProvifions are cheap,
but 'tis plain, Provifions are cheap there becaufe Labour is cheap,
and Labour is cheaper in thofe Parts than in others; becaufe being
remoter from London there is not that extraordinary Difproportion
between the Work and the Number of Hands; there are more
Hands, and confequently Labour cheaper.
'Tis plain to any obferving Eye, that there is an equal plenty
of Provifions in feveral of our South and Weftern Counties, as iri
'l^orkjhirej and rather a greater, and I believe I could make it out,
that a poor labouring Man may live as cheap in Kfnt or SuJJex as in
the Bilhoprick of Durham; and yet in Kjfii a poor Man fhall earn
7 /. los. gs. ^ Week, and in the Nortb 4/. or perhaps lefs ; the
difference is plain in this, that in ^e;?^ there is a greater want of
People, in Proportion to the Work. there, than in the North.
And this on the other hand makes the People ofournorthen
Countries fpread themfelvesfomuch totheSouth,whereTrade,War
and the Sea carrying offfo many, there is a greater want of Hands.
And yet 'xis plain there is Labour for the Hands which remain
in the North, or elfethe Country would be depopulated, and the
People come all away to the South to kck Work ; and even in 7Wk'
fiirej where Labour ischeapeft, the People can gain more by their
Labour than in any of the Manufaduring Countries of Germany^
Italy or France^ and live much better.
If there was one poor Man mEngUndmore than there was Work
to employ, either fomebody d(e mull: ftand ftill for him, or he
mull be ftarv'd; if another Man (lands llill for him he wants a
days Work, and goes to feek it, and by confequence fupplants a-
nother, and this a third, and this Contention brings it to this;
no faysthe poor Manj That Is like to he put out of his Work ^ rather
than that Man (hall come in I'll do it cheaper ; nay, fays the other,
but I'll do it cheaper than you ; and thus one poor Man wanting
but a Days work would bring down the price of Labour in a
whole Nation, for the Man cannot ilarve, and will work for any
thing rather than want it.
It may be Obje^led here, This is contradicled by our Number
ofBeggars.
I am forry to fay I am oblig'd here to call begging an Employ-
ment, fince 'tis plain, if there is more Work than Hands to perform
B 2 ir,
C 1= ]
ir, no Man that has his L/W/ and his vJ^;//^/ need to beg, andthofe
that have not ought to be put into a Condition not to want it.
So that begging is a meer fcandal in the General, in the Able 'tis
a fcandal upon their Induftry, and in the Impotent 'tis a fcandal
upon the Country.
Nay, the begging, as now praclic'd, is a fcandal upon our Cha-
rity, and perhaps the foundation of all our prefent Grievance-—
How can it be pofTible that any Man or Woman, who being
found in Body and Mind, may as 'tis apparent they may, have
Wages for their Work, fhould be fo bafe, fo meanly fpirited, as'
to beg an Alms for God-fake Truly the fcandal lies on our
Charity ; and People have fuch a Notion in England of being pit-
tiful and charitable, that they encourage Vagrants, and by a mi-
ftaken Zeal do more harm than good.
This is a large Scene, and much might be faid upon it ; I (hall
abridge it as much as poffible- — . The Poverty of England does
not lye among the craving Beggars but among poor Families,
where the Children are numerous, and where Death or Sicknefs
hasdepriv'd them of the Labour of the Father; thefe are the
Houfes that the Sons and Daughters of Charity, if they would or-
der it well, fhould feek out and relieve; an Alms ill directed may
be Charity to the particular Perfon,. but becomes an Injury to the
Publick, and no Charity to the Nation. As for the craving Poor,
I am perfwaded I do them no wrong when I fay, that if they
were Incorporated they would be the richeft Society in the Na-
tion ; and the reafon why fo many pretend to want Work is, that
they can live fo well with the pretence of wanting Work, they
would be mad to leave it and Work in earneft ; and I affim of my
own knowledge, when I have wanted a Man for labouring work,
and offer'd 9 s, per Week to ftrouling Fellows at my Door, they
have frequently told me to my Face, they could get more a beg-
ging, and I once fet a lufty Fellow in the Stocks for making the
Experiment.
I fhall, in its proper place, bring this to a Method of Tryal,
fince nothing but Demonftration will affeQ: us, 'tis an eafie matter
to prevent begging in England^ and yet to maintain all our Impo-
tent Poor at far lefs charge to the Pariflies than they now areob-
lig'd to be at.
When Queen Elizabeth had gain'd her Point as to Manufaftories
in EngUnd^ fhe had fairly laid the Foundation, fhe thereby found
out the way how every Family might live upon their own Labour,
like a wife Princefs fhe knew 'twould be hard to force People to
Work when there was nothing for them to turn their Hands to;
but aflbon as flie had brought the matter to bear, and there was
Work for every body that had no mind to ftarve, then fhe apply'd
her felf to make Laws to oblige the People to do this Work, and
to punifh Vagrants, and make every one live by their own La-
bour ; all her Succeflbrs followed this laudable Example, and from
hence came all thofe Laws againfl: fturdy Beggars, Vagabond?,
Stroulers,d"(r. which had they been feverely put in Execution by
our Magiftrates, 'tis prefum'd thefe Vagrant Poor had not fo en-
creas'd upon us as they have.
And it feems ftrange to me, from what juft Ground we proceed
now upon other Methods, and fancy that 'tis now our Bulinefsto
find them Work, and to Employ them rather than to oblige them
to find themfelves Work and go about it.
From thismiftaken Notion come all our Work-houfes and Cor-
porations, and the fame Error, with fubmiffiori, I prefume was
the birth of this Bill now depending, which enables every Parifli
to ere£l the Woollen Manufacture within it felf, for the employ-
ing their own Poor.
'Tis this miftake of this part of the Bill only which I am en-
quiring into, and which I endeavour to fet in a true light.
In all the Parliaments fiqce the Revolution, this Matter has
been before them^ and I am juftified in this attempt by the Houfe
of Commons having frequently" appointed Committees to receive
Propofals upon this Head.
As my Propofal is General, I prefume to offer it to the Gene-
ral Body of the Houfe ; if I am commanded to explain any part
of it, I am ready to do any thing that may be ferviceable to this
great and noble Defign.
As the former Houfes of Commons gave all poffibic Encou-
ragement to fuch as could offer, or but pretend to offer at
this needful thing, fo the imperfed Effays of feveral, whether for
private or publick Benefit. I do not attempt to determine which
have fince been made, and which have obtain'd the Powers and
Conditions they have defir'd, have by all their Effeds demonftra-
ted the weaknefs of their Defign j and that they either underfiood
nor
Eh]
not tlie Pifeafe , or Icnow not the proper Cure for it.
The Imperfeftion of all thefe Attempts is acknowlcdg'd, not
only in the Preamble of this new Aft of Parliament, but even in
the thing, in that there is yet occafion for any new Law.
And having furvey'd, not the neceffity of a new A6:, but the
Contents of the AQ: which has been proposed as a Remedy in this
Cafe ; I cannot but offer myObje£lionsagainft the Sufficiency of
the Propofal, and leave it to the Confideracion of this Wife Af-
fembly, and of the whole Nation.
I humbly hope the Learned Gentlemen, under whofe Dire-
Etion this Law is now to proceed, and by whofe Order it has
been Printed, will not think himfelfperfonally concern'd in this
Cafe, his Endeavours to promote fo good a Work, as the Re-
lief, Employment, and Settlement of the Poor merit the Thanks
and Acknowledgment of the whole Nation, and no Man fhall
fee more ready to pay his fhare of that Debt to him than my felf.
But if his Scheme happen to be fomething fuperficial, if he comes
in among the numberofthoft who have not fearch'd this Wound
to the bottom, if die Methods propos'd are not fuch as will either
anfwer his own Defigns or the Nations, I cannot think my felf ob-
ligM to difpenfe, with my Duty to the Publick Good, to pre-
ferve a Perfonal Value for his Judgment, tho' the Gentleman's
Merit be extraordinary.
Wherefore, as in all the Schemes I have feen laid for the Poor,
and in this Aft now before your Honourable Houfe; the general
Thought ofthePropofers runs upon the Employing the Poor by
Work-houfes, Corporations, Houfes of Correftion, and the
like, and that I think it plain to be feen, that thofe Propofals come
vaftly (hort of the main Defign. Thefe Sheets are humbly laid
before you, as well to make good what is alledg'd, viz. That
all thefe Work-houfes, &c. Tend to the Encreafe, and not the
Relief of the Poor, as to make an humble Tender of mean plain,
but I hope, rational Propofals for the more effeftual Cure of this
grand Difeafe.
In order to proceed to this great Challenge, I humbly defire
the Bills already pafs'd may be review'd, the PrafticeofourCor.
poration Work-houfes, and the Contents of this propofed Aft
examin'd.
la
C ^5]
In all thefe it will appear that the Method chiefly propofed
for the Employment of our Poor, is by fetting them to Work oa
the feveral Manufa^ures before men tion'd ',2LsSfmmng^WeAvifig^
and Manufafturingour EfjglijhWool,
All our Work-houfes, lately 'EvQdi^A'mEngUnei, are in gene-
ral thus Employ'd, for which without enumerating Particulars,
I humbly appeal to the Knowledge of the feveral Members of this
Honourable Houfe in their re fpedive Towns where fuch Corpo-
rations have been ereQ:ed.
In the prefent Acl now preparing, as Printed by Direftlon of
a Member of this Honourable Houfe, it appears, that in order tcr
fetthe Poor to Worky it fh^ill h Luivful for the Overfeers of every
Town, or of one or Wi?rt? Towns joyn'd together to occupy Any
'Fradey Myftery^ &C. And raife Stocks for the carrying them on for
the fetting the Poor at PVork, and for the fur chafing fVoo/^ Iron,
Hemp^ Flax, Thready or other Materials for that Purpofi. Vide
the A^ Pablifh'^d by Sir Humphry Mackworth.
And that Charities given fo and fo, and not exceeding 200/.
per Annum for this Purpofe, Qiall be Incorporated of Courfe for •
thefe Ends.
In order now to come to the Cafe in hand, it is neceffary t(f-
premife^ that the thing now in debate is not the Poor of this or that
particular Town. The Houfe of Commons are ading like them- -
iekes, as they are the Reprelentatives of all the Commons oF
England^ 'cis the Care of all the Poor of England which lies be-
fore them, not of this or that particular Body of the Poor.
In proportion to this great Work, I am to be underfVood that
thefe Work-houfes, Houfes of Corre£lion, and Stocks to Em-
ploy the Poor may be granted to lefTen the Poor in this or that
particular part of England', and we are particularly told of that
at Brijlol, that it has been fuch a Terror to the Beggars that none
of the ftouling Crew will come near the City. But all this al-
low'd, in general, 'twill be felt in the main, and the end will be
au Encreafe of our Poor.
1. The Manufactures that thefe Gentlemen Employ the Poor
upon, are all fuch as are before exercis'd in England,
2. They are all fuch as are m^nag'd to a full Extent, and the
prefent Accidents of War and Forreign Interruption of Trade
confider'^ rather beyond the vent of them than under ic
Sup«-
Suppofenow aWork-houfe for Employment of Poor Children,
fets them to fpinning of Worfted.-'-For every Skein of Worfled
thefe Poor Children Spin, there muftbe a Skein the lefs Spun by
fome poor Family or Perfon that fpun it before 5 fuppofe the Ma-
nufafture of making B^iystohQ erQ^tdm Bijhopsgate-Jlreet^ unlefs
the Makers of thefe Bays can at the fame time find out a Trade or
Confumption for more Bays than were made before. For every
piece of Bays fo made in London there muft be a Piece the lefs made
at Colechefter.
I humbly appeal to the Honourable Houfe of Commons what
this may be call'd, and with fubmiflionjithink it is nothing at all
to Employing the Poor, fince 'tis only the tranfpofing the Manu-
fadlure from Colchefter to London, and taking the Bread out of
the Mouths of the Poor of Effex to put it into the Mouths of the
Poor of Middle/ex,
If thefe worthy Gentlemen, wholhow themfelves fo commen-
dably forward to Relieve and Employ thePoor, will find out fome
new Trade, fome new Market, where the Goods they make (hall
be fold, where none of the fame Goods were fold before ; if they
will fend them to any place where they (hall not interfere with the
reft of that Manufafture, or with fome other made in England,
then indeed they will do fomething worthy of themfelves, and
may employ the Poor to the fame glorious Advantage as Queen
Elizabeth did, to whom this Nation, as a trading Country, owes
its peculiar Greatneis. .
If thefe Gentlemen could eftablifh a Trade to Mufeovy for Eng'
lijh Serges^ or obtain an Order from the Czar^ that all his Sub-
jefts fhould wear Stockings who wore none before, every poor
Child's Labour in Spining and Knitting thofe Stockings, and all the
Wool in them would be clear gain to the Nation, and the general
Stock would be improved by it, becaufe all the growth of our
Country, and all the Labour of a Perfon who was Idle before, is
fo much clear Gain to the General Stock.
If they will Employ the Poor in fome Manufadure which was
not made in E^^/^W before, or not bought with fome Manufacture
made here before, then they offer at fomething extraordinary.
But to fet Poor People at Work, on the fame thing which 0-
ther poor People were employ'd on before, and at the fame time
not encreafe the Confumpticn, is giving to one what you take
avi'ay
.[ 17 ]
away from another ; enriching one poor Man to ftarve another
putting a Vagabond into an honefl: Man's Employment, and put-
ting his Diligence on the Tenters to find out fomef other Work to
maintain his Family.
As this is not at all profitable, fo with Submiffion for the Extfref-
fton^ I cannot fay 'tis honeft, becaufe 'tis tranrplanting and carry-
ing the poor Peoples Lawful Employment from the Place where
was their Lawful Settlement, and the hard (hip of thisc?//r Lm
fi7;;^^^r'^ is Intolerable. For Example.
The Manufacture of making Bays is now Eftablifli'd at Col^
chejier in EJfex^ fuppofe it fhould be attempted to be Ereded in
Middlefexy as a certain Worthy and Wealthy Gentleman near
Hackney once propos'd, it may be fuppos'd if you will grant the
Skill in Working the fame, and the Wages the fame, that they
muftbe made cheaper in M/W^/^yr.v than in £//>jf, and cheapnefs
certainly will make the Merchant buy here rather than there, and
fo in time all the Bay making at Colchefter Dyes, and the Staple
for that Commodity is remov'd to London.
. What muft the Poor oiCokheJler do, there they buy a Paro*
chial Settlement, thofe that have numerous Families cannot fol-
low the Manufa^ure and come up to London^ for our Parochial
Laws Impower the Church, wardens to refufe them a Settlement,
fo that they are confin'd to their own Countrey, and the Bread
taken out of their Mouths, and all this to feed Vagabonds, and
to fet them to Work, who by their choice would be idle^ and
who merit the Corredlion of the Law.
There is another Grievance which I fhall endeavour€-o touch at,
which every Man that wifhes well to the Poor does not forefee,and
which, with humble Submiffion to theGentlemen that contrived
this Aft, I fee no notice taken of.
There are Arcanas in Trade, which though they are the Na-
tural Confequences of Time and cafual Circumftances, are yet
become now fo Elfential to the Publick Benefit, that to alter or
diforder, them would be an irreparable Damage to the Publick.
Ifliall explain myfelfasconcifeiy as lean.
TheManufadluresof EngUnd2i\'t happily fettled in different
Corners of the Kingdom, from whence they are mutually con-
veyed by a Circulation of Trade to London by Wholefale, like the
Blood to the Heart, and from thence difperfe in lefTer quantities
C to
I »8 ]
to the otfier parts of the Kingdom by RetaiL For Example:
Serges aremadeat Exeter ^TaantonyhQ. Stuffs 2it Norwich-, Bajs^
Sayes,:jhaioom,k'C. at Colchefter^ Bockingy Sudbury, and Farts adjacent.
Fine Cloaife vaSomerfet^ WiltSy Gloucefler and WorcePerjhire, Gourfe
Cloath in Torkjhire, Kjnt^ Surry, Sic, Druggets at Far^haw^ iVw-
hury^kc. All thefe fend up the Grofs of their Quantity to LonAoriy
and receive each others Sorts in Retail for their own ufe again.
Norwich Buys Exeter Serges, Exeter Buys Norwich Stuffs ; all at
Londofty Torkfhire Buys Fine Cloths, and Gloucefler Courfe, fVill at
London ; and the like,, of a vafl Variety of our Manufactures.
By this Exchange of Manufactures abundance of Trading Fa-
milies are maintain'dby the Carriage and Re-carriage of Goods,
vaft number of Men and Cattle are employed, and numbers of
Inholders, Vidua Hers, and their Dependencies fubfiftedi
And on thisaccount I cannot but obferve to your Honours, and
'tis well worth your Confideration, that the already Tranfpofing
a vaft Woollen Manufadure from feveral Farts o^ England to Lon^
don, is a manifeft detriment to Trade in general, the feveral Wool*
len Goods now made in Spittlefaldsy where within this few Years^
were none at all made, has already vifibly affeftcd the feveral Parts,
where they were before made, as Norwich, Sudbury, Farnham,
andotherTowns, many ofwhofeFrincipalTradefmen are now
removed hither, employ their Stocks here, employ the Poor here,
and leave the Poor of thofe Countries to fhift for Work.
This Breach of the Circulation of Trade muft neceffarily Di-
flemper the Body, and I crave leave to give an Example or two.
ril prefume to give an Example in Trade, which perhaps the
Gentlemen concern'd in this Bill may, without Refle6lion upon
their knowledge, be ignorant of.
The City o\ Norwich, and parts adjacent, were for fome Ages.
cmploy'd in the Manufa61ures of Stuffs and Stockings. . ^
The Latter Trade, which was once confiderable, is in a man-
ner wholly tranfpos'dinto London, by the vail: quanties of work-
ed Hofe Wove by the Frame, v^hich is a Trade within this 20
i'ears almoft wholly nev/.
Now as the knitting Frame perform that-in a Day which would
otherwife emv loy a poor Woman eight or ten Days, by confe-
quence a few Frames pcrform'd the Work of many Thoufand poor
People j and the Confumption being not increafed, theEfte^l i.Ti-
, mediately
1^9 1
mediately appear 'd : fo many Stockings as were madeui Londonio
many the fewer were demanded from Norwich^ till in a few Years
the Manufa£lure there wholly funk,*the Matters there turn'd their
hands to other Bufinefs ; and whereas the Hofe Trade from Nor-
folk once return'd at leaft $000 s. per Week, and asfome fay twice
that Sum, 'tis not now worth naming.
'Tis in fewer Years, and near oar Memory, thdtt 0^ S pit tle-fe Ids
Men have fallen into another branch of the Norivicb Trade, viz.
making of Stuffs, Drugets, &c.
If any Man fay the People 0^ Norfolk are yet full of Employ, and
do not Work ; and fome have been fo weak as to make that Re-
ply, avoiding the many other Demonftrations which could be gi-
ven, this is paft anfwering, viz,. That tlie Combers of Wool in
Norfolk and Suffolk^ who formerly had all, or ten Parts in eleven
of their Yarn Manufadur'd in the Country, now comb theit
Wool indeed, and fpin the Yarn in the Country, but fend vaft
Quanties of it to London to be woven ; will any Man queftion
whether this be not a Lofs to Norwich-^ Can there be as many Wea-
vers as before ? And are there not abundance of Work- men and
Matters too remov'd to London ?
If it be fo at Norwich, Cunterbury is yet more a melancholy In-
ftance of it, where the Houfes ftand empty, and the People go
off, and the Trade dye,becaufe the Weaversare follow'd the Ma-
nufafture to London ; and whereas there was within few Years 200
broad Looms at Work, I amVell affur'd there ar€ not 50 now
Employ'd in that City,
Thefe are the Effe6ls of tranfpofing MatiufadVures, and inter-
rupting the Circulation of Trade.
All Methods tobring our Trade to be manag'd by fewer hands
than it was befoi^, are in themfelves pernicious to England in gene-
ral, as it leffens the Employment of the Poor, unhinges their
Hands from the Labour, and tends to bring our Hands to be fu-
perior to our Employ, which as yet it is not.
In Dorfetjhire and Somerfetfhire there always has been a very con-*
fiderable Manufadure for Stockings, at Cokhefier and Sudbury for
Bayes, Sayes, &c, moftof the Wool thefe Countries ufe is bought
at London, and carried down into thofe Counties, and then the
Goods being Manufaftur'd are brought back to London to Market;
upon tranfpofing the Manufadure as before, all the poor People
C 2 and
C 20 ]
and all theCattel who hitherto were Employ 'd in that Vbiture^zte
immediately disbanded by their Country, the Inkeepers on the
Roads murt Decay, fo much Land lye for other ufes, as the Cattle
Employ'd,Houfes and Tenement on the Roads, and all their De-
pendencies fink in S^'alue.
'Tis hard to calculate what a blow it would be to Trade in ge-
neral, fhould every County but Manufadure all the feveral forts
of Goods they ufe, it would throw our Inland Trade into ftrange
Convulfions, which at prefent is perhaps,or has been, in the greac-
eft Regularity of any in the World.
What ftrange Work muft it then make when every Town fhall
have a Manufadure, and every Parifli be a Ware-houfe ; Trade
will be burthen'd with Corporations, which are generally equally
deftruQive as Monopolies,and by this Method will eafily be made (o.
Parifb Stocks, under the Direftion of Juftices of Peace, may foon
come to fet up petty Manufa8:ures, and here (hall all ufeful things
be made, and all the poorer fort of People fhall beaw'd orbyafs'd
to Trade there only. Thus the Shop-keepers, who pay Taxes,
and are the Support of our inland Circulation, will immediately
be ruin'd, and thus we fhall beggar the Nation to provide for the
Poor.
As this will make every Parifh a Market Town, and every Ho&
pital a Store- houfe, fo in Londofj^ and the adjacent Parts, to which
vaft quantities of the Woollen Manufe£lure will be thus tranfplan-
ted thither, will in time too great &nd difproportion'd Numbers
of the People afTemble.
, Tho' the fettled Poor can't remove, yet fingle People will ftfoul
about and follow the Manufafturer ; and thus in time fuch vaft
;: numbers will bqdrawn about London^zs may be inconvenient to the
^<GQvernment,and efpecially Depopulating to thofe Countries where
the numbers of People, by reafon of thefe Manufadures are very
confiderable.
An eminent Inftance of this we have in the prefent Trade to A&/
4sovyy which however defign'd for an Improvement to the Engli(h
Nation, and boafted of as fuch, appears to be Converted into a Mo-
nopoly, and provesInjuriousandDeftru6live to the Nation. The
Peifons concern'd removing and carrying out our People to teach
that unpoliih'd Nation the Improvements they are capable of.
If
If the bringing the Flemings to England brought with them their
Manufafture and Trade, carrying our People abroad, efpecially
to a Country where the People work for Uttle or nothing, what
may it not do towards Intruding that populous Nation in fuch
Manufactures as may in time tend to the deftruQion of our
Trade, or the reducing our Manufadure to an Abatement in Va-
lue, which will be felt at home by an abatement of Wages, and
that in Provifions, and that in Rent of Land ; and fo the general
Stock finks of Courfe.
But as this is preparing, by eminent Hands, to be laid before
this Houfe as a Grievance meriting your Care and Concern, I
omit infifting on it here.
And this removing of People is attended with many Inconveni-
encies which are not eafily perceived, as
^ r. The immediate fall of the Value of all Lands in thofc Coun-
tries where the Manufactures were before ; for as the numbers of
People, by the Confumption of Provifions, mull: where ever they
encreafe make Rents rife, and Lands valuable; fo thofe People
removing, tho' the Provifions would, if poflible, follow them,
yet the Price of them muft fsftl by all that Charge they are at for
Carriage, and confequently Lands muft fall in Proportion.
"2. This Tranfplanting of Families, in time, would introduce
great and new Alterations in the Countries they remiOved to, which
as they would be to the Profit of fome Places, would be to the De-
triment of others, and can by no means be juil any more than ic
is convenient ; for no wife Government fl:udies to put any Branch
of their Country to any particular Difad vantages, tho' it may be
found in the general Account in another Place.
If it be faid here will be Manufactures in every Parifh, and that
will keep the People at home,
I humbly reprefent whatftrange Confufion and particular De-
triment to the general Circulation of Trade mention d before it muil
be, to have every PariQi make its own Manufactures.
1. It will make our Towns and Counties independent of one
another, and put a damp to Correfpondence, which all will allow
to be a great Motive ot Trade in general.
2. It will fill us with various forts and kinds of Manufactures,
by which our Itated forts of Goods will in time dwindle away in
Reputation, and Foreigners not know them one from another.
Our
[22 J
Our feveral Maniifa£lures are ^known by their refpec^ire Names ;
and our Serges, Bayes and other Goods, are bought abroad by the
Chara^ler and Re^ucation of the Places where they are made;
when there flran ijOme new and unheard of Kinds to Market,
fome better, fome worfe, as to befure new Undertakers wilivary
in kinds, the Dignity and Reputation of the E^gltfiHoads abroad
will be lofl^ and fo many Confufions in Trade tnuil follow , as are
too many to repeat.
g. Either our Farifh-ftock muft fell by Wholefaleor by Retail,
or both ; if the firft, 'tis doubted they will make forry work of it,
and having other Bufinefs of their own make but poor Merchants ;
if by Retail, then they turn Pedlars, will be a publick nufance
to Trade, and at lall quite ruin it.
4. This will ruin all the Carriers in EngUnA^ the Wool will be
all Manufaftured where it is (heer'd, every body will make their
own Cloaths, and the Trade which now lives by running thro'
a multitude of Hands, will go then through fo few, that thoufands
of Families will want Employment, and this is the only way to
reduce us to the Condition fpoken of, to have more Hands than
Work. *
'Tis the excellence of our Englijh Manufa£lure, that it is fo plant-
ed as to go thro' as many Hands as 'tis poffible ; he that contrives
to have it go thro' fewer, ought at the 6me time to provide ^ork
for the reft- — As it is it Employs a great multitude of People, and
can employ more ; but if a confiderable number of thefe People
be unhing'd from their Employment, it cannot but be detrimen-
tal to the whole.
When I fay we could employ more People in England, I do not
mean that we cannot do our Work with thofe we have, but I
mean thus :
Firft-, It (bould be more People brought over from foreign Parts.
I do not mean that thofe we have fhould be taken from all com-
mon Employments and put to our Manufadure ; we may une-
qually difpofe of our Hands, and fo have too many for fome
Works, and too few for others ; and 'tis plain that in fome parts of
England it is fo, what elfe can be the reafon, why in our Southern
Parts of England^ Kjnt in particular, borrows 20000 People of
other Counties to get in her Harveft-.
But
But if more Forreigners came among us, if it were 2 Millions
it could do us no harm, becaufe they would confume our Provi-
fions, and we have Landenough to produce much more than we
do, and they would confume our Manufactures, and we have
Wool enough for any Quantity.
I think therefore, with fubmilTion, to eretb Manufaftures in e-
very Town to tranfpofe the Manufadures from the fettled places
into private Pariflies and Corporations, to parcel out our Trade to
every Door, it mull: be ruinous to the Manufa6lurers themfelves,
will turn thogfands of Families out of their Employments, and
take the Bread out of the Mouths of diligent and induftrious Fami-
lies to feed Vagrants, Thieves and Beggars, who ought much ra-
ther to be compell'd, by Legal Methods, to leek that Work which
it is plain is to be had ; and thus this A 6l^w ill inftead of fettling and
relieving the Poor, encreafe their Number, and ftarvethe beft
of them.
It remains now, according to my firft Propofal Page 9. to con*
fiderfrom whence proceeds the Poverty of our People, what Ac-
cident, what'Decay of Trade, what want of Employment, what,
ftrange Revolution of Circumftances makes our People Poor and-
confequently Burthenfom, and our Laws Deficient, fo as to make
more and other Laws Requifite, and the Nation concerned to ap-
ply, a Remedy to this growing Difeafe. I Anfwer.
I, Not for want of Work ; and befides what has been faid on
tfi'at Head, I humbly defirethefe two things may beconfider'd.
Firil:, 'Tis apparent, Thatif one Man, Woman, or Child, can
by his> or her Labour, earn more Money than will fubfift one
body, there muft confequently be no want of Work, fince any
Man would Work for juft; as much as would fupply himfelf rather
than rtarve- -- What a vaft difference then mud there be between
the Work and the Work-men, when 'tis now known that in Spu^
t/e-fieUs, and orher adjacent parts of the City, there is nothing
more frequent than for a Journey-man Weaver, of many forts to
gain from 1 5 j. to ^os. per Week Wages, .and I appeal to the Silk
Throwfters, whether they do not give 8 j. 9^. and 10/. per Week
to blind Men and Cripples, to turn Wheels, and do the meanett
and moft ordinary Works.
C 24
Cur Mori at ur Homo^&c,
Why are the Families of thefe Men ftarv'd, and their Children
in Work-houfes, and brought up by Charity : I am ready to pro-
duce to this Honourable Houfe the Man who for feveral Years
has gain'd of me by his handy Labour at the mean fcoundrel Em-
ployment of Tile making from 16 s. to 20 s. per Week Wages, and
all that time would hardly have a pair of Shoes to his Feet, or
Cloaths to cover his Nakednefs, and had his Wife and Children
kept by the Parifh. -.■•
The meaneft Labours in this Nation afford the Work- men fuf-
ficient to provide for himfelf and his Family, and that could never
be if there was a want of Work.
2. 1 humbly defire this Honourable Houfeto confider the prefenc
Difficulty of Raifing Soldiers in this Kingdom ; the vail Charge
the Kingdom is at to the Officers to procure Men ; the many little
and not ever honeft Methods made ufe of to bring them into the Ser-
vice, the Laws made to compel them ; Why are Goals rumag'd for
Malefadors, and the Mint andPrifbns for Debtors, the War is an
Employment of Honour, and fuffersfome fcandalin having Men
taken from the Gallows, and immediately fromVillains and Houfe-
breakers made Gentlemen Soldiers. If Men wanted Employ-
ment, and confequently Bread, this could never be, any Man
would carry a Mufquet rather than ftarve, and wear the
Queens Cloth, or any Bodies Cloth, rather than go Naked,
and live in Rags and want; 'tis plain the Nation is full of
People, and 'tis as plain our People have no particular averfion
to the War, but they are not poor enough to go abroad ; 'tis Po-
verty makes Men Soldiers, and drives crowds into the Armies, and
the Difficulties to get Englt/h-rnQn to Lift is, becaufe they live in
Plenty and Eafe, and he that can earn 20 s. per Week at an eafie,
fteady Employment, muft be Drunk or Mad when he Lifts for
a Soldier, to be knock'd o'th'Head for -^ s. 6 d, per W^eek; but if
there was no Work to be had, if the Poor wanted Employment,
it they had not Bread to eat, nor knew not how to earn it, thou-
sands of young lufty Fellows would fly to the Pike and Mufquet,
and ciioofe to dye like Men in the Face of the Enemy, rather
tbaalye at home, ftarve, perifli in Poverty and Diftrefs.
From
C =5 3
From all thefe Particulars, and innumerable unhappy Inflances
which might be given, 'tis plain, the Poverty of our People
which isfo burthenfome, and increafes upon us fo much, does not
arife from want of proper Employments, and for want of Work,
or Employers, and confequently,
Work-houfes, Corporations, Parifli- flocks, and the like, to
fet them to Work, as they are Pernicious to Trade, Injurious
and Impoverifhing to thofe already em ploy 'd, fo they are need-
lefs, and will come fhort of the End propos'd.
The Poverty and Exigence of the Poor in England^ is plainly
deriv'd from one of thefe two particular Caufes,
Cajualtj or Crime.
By Cafuaky, I mean Sicknefs of Families, lofs of Limbs or
Sight, and any, either Natural or Accidental Impotence as to
Labour.
Thefe as Infirmities meerly Providential are not at all con«
cern'd in this Debate; ever were, will, and ought tobe the Charge
and Care of the Refpe6live Parifhes where fuch unhappy People
chance to live, nor is there any want of new Laws to make Pro-
vifion for them, our Anceftors having been always careful to
do it.
The Crimes of our People, and from whence their Poverty
derives, as the vifible and direft Fountains are,
1. Luxury.
2. Sloath.
5. Pride.
Good Husbandry is no E^glijh Vertue, it may have been
brought over, and in fome Places where it has been planted it has
thriven well enough, but 'tis a Forreign Species, it neither loves
nor isbelov'd by an Engltlh-mm; and 'tis obferv'd, nothing is
founiverfally hated, nothing treated with fuch a general Con*
tempt as a Ricli Covetous Man, tho'he does no Man any Wrong
only faveshisown, every Man will have an ill word for him, if a
Misfortune happens to him, hang him a covetous old Rogue,
tis no Matter, he's Rich enough, nay when a certain great'
Man's Houfe was on Fire, I have heard the People fay one to a-
nother, let it burn and 'twill, he's a covetous old miferly Dog I
wo'nt trouble my head to help him, he'd be hang'd before he'd
give us a bit of Bread if we wanted it,
E) The'
C 2^ 3
Tho' this be a Fault, yet I obferve trom it romething of the ■
natural Temper and Genius of the Nation, generally ipei^dng,
they cannot fave their Money.
'Tis generally faid the Engliflj get Eftates, and the Datch fav^
them ; and this Obfervation I have made between Forreignecs
and Engli(b-meny that v;here an Englilh-marf Q^vns 2os.perWed{,
^ndhutjuft lives^ as we call it, a Dutch-man grows Rich, and
leaves his Children in very good Gondition ; where an Engli[h la-
bouring Man with his 9/. ^^y Week Uves wretchedly and poor,
a Dutch-mm with that Wages will live very tolerably well, keep
the Wolf from the Door, and have every thing handfome aboiK
him. In fliort, he will be Rich with the fame Gain as makes
xhtEngUfh-mAn poor, he'll thrive when the other goes in Rags,
and hell live when the other ftarve^, of goes a begging.
The Reafon is plain, a Man with good Husbandry, and
Thought in his Head, brings home his Earnings honeftly to his
Family, commits it to the Management of his Wife, orotherwife
difpofes it for proper Subfiftance, and this Man with mean Gains
lives comfortably, and brings up a Family, when a fingle Maa
getting the fame Wages, Drinks it away at the Ale-houfe, thinks
not of to morrow, layesup nothing for Sicknefs, Age, or Difaften,
and when any of thefe happen he's ftarv'd, and a Beggar.
This is fo apparent in every place, that I think it needs no EiCi-
plication ; that E/fglifb Labouring Peoplo eat and drink, but efpeci-
ally the latter three times as much in velue as any fort of Forreig-
ners of the fame Dimenfions in the World.
I am not Writing this as a Satyr on our People, 'tis a fad Truth ;
and Worthy tht? Debate and Application of the Nations Phyfitians
AfTembled in Parliament, the profufe Extravagant Humour of our
poor People in eating and drinking, keeps them low, caufes their
Children to be left naked andftarving, to the careof theParifhes,
whenever either Sicknefs or Difafter befalls the Parento
The next Article is thQirS loath.
We are the mod Lazy DUigern Nation in the World, vaft
Trade, Rich Manufactures, mighty Wealth, univerfal Corre-
fpondence and happy Succefs has been conftant Companions of
England^ and given US the Title of an Induftrious People, and fo
in general we are.
But
l^7l
But there Is a general Taint of Slothfulnefs upon our Poor,there^s
nothing more frequent, than for an £/7^///&-w^4« to Work till he
has got his Pocket full of Money, and' then go and be idle, or
perhaps drank^ till 'tis all gone, and perhaps himfelf in Debt; and
ask him in his Cups what he intends, he'll tell you honeftly, he'll
drink as long as it lafts, and then go to work for more.
I humbly fuggeft this Diftemper'sfo General, fo Epidemick',
and fo deep Rooted in the Nature and GeniuS of the Engltjh^ that
I much doubt it's being eafily redrefs'd, and queftion whether it
be poffible to reach it by an A£t of Parliament.
This is the Ruine of our Poor, the Wife* mourns, the Children
fiarves, the Husband has Work before him^ but lies at the Ale-
houfe, or otherwife idles away his time, and won't Work.
'Tisthe Men that wont rvorky not the Men that can get no worh^
which makes the numbers of our Poor ; all the Work-houfes in
£^^/^W, all the Overfeers fetting up Stocks and Manufadures
won't reach this Cafe ; and I humbly prefume to fay, if thcfe two
Articles are removed, there will be no need of the other.
I make no Difficulty to promife on a (hort Summons, to pro-
duce above a Thoufand Families in England, within my particu-
lar knowledge, who go in Rags, and their Children wanting
Bread, whofe Fathers can earn their 1 5 to 255. fer Week, but
will not work, who may have Work enough, but are too [idle to
feek after it, and hardly vouchfafe to earn any thing more than
bare Subfiftance, and Spending Money for themfelves.
I can give an incredible number of Examples in my own =
Knowledge among our Labouring Poor. I once paid 6 or 7 Men ^
together on a J^Var^^; Night, the lead 10/. and fome 30 s. for
Work, and have feen them go with it direcbly to the ALe-houfe,
lie there till Monday, fpend it every Penny, and run in Debt to
boot, and not give a Farthing of it to their Families, tho' all of
them had Wives and Children.
From hence comes Poverty, Parifh Charges, and Beggary, if e--
ver one of thefe Wretches falls fick, all they would ask was a
Pafsto the Parifh theyliv'd at, and the Wife and Children to th&
Door a Begging.
If this Plonourable Hcufe can -find out a Remedy for this part of
the Mifchief ; if fuch Adls of Parliament may be made as may cf-
fedually curethe Sloth and Luxury of our Poor, that fhall make
Drun-
C .8 ]
Drunkards take care of Wife and Children, fpendthnfts, lay up
for a ivet Day, Idle, Lazy Fellows Diligent; and Thouglnlefs
Sottifli Men, Caretul and Provident.
If this can be done, I prefunie to fay there will be no need of
tranfpofingand confounding our Manufadures, and the Circulati-
onof our Trade; they willfoon find work enough, and there will
foon be lefs Poverty among us, and if this cannot be done, fetting
then:i to work upon Woolen Manufa6lures,and thereby encroach-
ing upon thofe that now work at them, will but ruine our Trade,
and confequently increafe the number of the Poor.
I do not prefume to offer the Schemes I have now drawn cf
Methods for the bringing much of this topafs, becaufe 1 {hall not
prefume to lead a Body fo Auguft, fo Wife, and fo Capable as
this Honourable Aflembly.
I humbly fubmit what ishere offered, as Reafons to prove the
Attempt now making infuiRcient ; and doubt not but in your
Great Wifdom, you will find out Ways and Means to iet this
Matter in a clearer Light, and on a right Foot.
And if this obtains on the Houfe to examine farther into this
Matter, the Author humbly recommends it to their Confiderati-
onto accept, /// behalf of all the Poor of this Nation^ aClaufe in the
-room of this objefted againfl:,, which fhall ?nfwer theEnd without
.this terrible Ruin to cur Trade and People.
FINIS,
BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY
3 9999 05985 131 9
Live Music
Archive
Librivox
Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland
Museum of Art
Internet
Arcade
Console Living Room
Open Library
American
Libraries
TV News
Understanding
9/11